The global learning crisis -- and what to do about it | Amel Karboul
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This section introduces the speaker and highlights the bold leadership decision made by Tunisia's first president to invest 20% of the national budget in education.
Investing in Education
- Tunisia's first president, Habib Bourguiba, allocated 20% of the country's national budget to education after independence in 1956.
- This decision was considered bold and contributed to establishing free, high-quality education for all children.
- Despite protests about prioritizing infrastructure, President Bourguiba believed that educated minds were the most important infrastructure.
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The importance of addressing the global learning crisis is discussed, emphasizing the need to shift focus from schooling to learning.
The Global Learning Crisis
- The speaker acknowledges being indebted to President Bourguiba's decision but highlights the current global learning crisis.
- The term "learning crisis" is used instead of an education crisis due to a significant number of children failing to learn even when attending school.
- Currently, a quarter billion children are out of school, and an additional 330 million are in school but not learning effectively.
- Without intervention, by 2030, half of the world's children and youth will either be out of school or failing to learn.
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The speaker explains their involvement with the Education Commission and its mission to address the learning crisis globally.
Joining the Education Commission
- Two years ago, the speaker joined the Education Commission led by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
- The commission aimed to understand the extent of the learning crisis and explore potential solutions.
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The scope of the learning crisis is revealed, and the importance of shifting focus from schooling to learning is emphasized.
The Scope of the Learning Crisis
- Research conducted by the Education Commission indicates that by 2030, half of the world's children will be failing to learn.
- Shifting focus from counting bodies in classrooms to measuring actual learning outcomes is crucial.
- The speaker emphasizes the need to learn from countries that have shown significant improvements in education within their income level.
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The potential for every child to be in school and learning within one generation is discussed, highlighting the importance of learning from successful education systems.
Achieving Universal Education
- It is possible to achieve universal education within one generation by adopting successful strategies from other countries.
- By studying the fastest improvers in education within each income level, every country can make progress towards ensuring all children are in school and learning effectively.
- The example of Tunisia looking at Vietnam's educational success rather than Finland's is given as an illustration.
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The need for systematic assessment of student progress and making achievements public is highlighted as a means to improve education systems.
Assessing Learning Outcomes
- Many developing countries lack systematic assessments of student progress, especially at primary and lower secondary levels.
- Without knowing if children are learning, it becomes challenging for teachers and policymakers to prioritize effective education spending.
- Making achievements public and monitoring teacher performance can lead to improved results, as demonstrated by Vietnam's success in standardized assessments.
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The importance of delivering results through improved education systems and addressing challenges such as teacher shortages is emphasized.
Delivering Results
- Pouring more money into broken education systems without delivering results can lead to inefficiencies.
- The devaluation of education due to children not learning may result in reduced spending and inadequate skills development.
- Improving current education systems is crucial, but additional challenges such as teacher shortages need to be addressed.
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The speaker raises concerns about providing quality education in challenging contexts, such as refugee camps and remote rural areas.
Education in Challenging Contexts
- In countries with limited resources and qualified teachers, finding solutions becomes more complex.
- Examples are given of Somalia, where there aren't enough qualified teachers even if every student became one, and Filipe's village alongside the Amazonas rivers with limited access to education.
Timestamps have been associated with bullet points based on the provided transcript.
Education in the Amazonas State
This section discusses the challenges faced by students in the Amazonas state of Brazil and how a new law made secondary education mandatory.
Access to Education in the Amazonas State
- In the past, students in the Amazonas state had limited options for continuing their education.
- Many students had to either move to Manaus, the capital, or stop studying altogether.
- In 2009, Brazil passed a law making secondary education mandatory for every Brazilian and an obligation for every state.
- Providing high-quality education in the remote communities of the Amazonas state was challenging and expensive.
The Media Center Solution
- To overcome the challenge of providing teachers to remote communities, civil servants and officials developed a creative solution called the media center.
- Specialized content teachers in Manaus deliver live-streamed classes to over a thousand classrooms in scattered communities.
- Each classroom has 5 to 25 students and is supported by a tutoring teacher for personalized learning.
- Content teachers collaborate with tutoring teachers to customize lesson plans based on local context and needs.
Importance of Division between Content and Tutoring Teachers
- The division between content teachers and tutoring teachers is crucial because it addresses two issues: lack of qualified teachers and overload on teachers' responsibilities.
- In many countries, there is a shortage of qualified teachers compared to other professions like doctors.
- Teachers often have too many tasks that they are not trained for or supposed to do.
Harnessing Technology for Learning
This section highlights how technology can be harnessed for learning through live-streaming classes and bidirectional communication.
Live-streaming Classes
- The media center solution includes live-streaming classes where students can interact with content teachers from remote areas like Filipe did.
- Technology allows students to present information back during these sessions.
Challenges and Benefits of Technology
- Technology is not always perfect, and some classrooms may experience disruptions due to factors like floods or technical issues.
- Despite challenges, over 300,000 students have benefited from the media center solution in accessing post-primary education.
- Technology plays a central role in bringing school to children when it is not feasible to bring children to school.
Initiatives for the "Learning Generation"
This section discusses two initiatives aimed at making the "Learning Generation" a reality: Pioneer Country Initiative and financing.
Pioneer Country Initiative
- Over 20 countries from Africa and Asia have committed to prioritizing education and transforming their education systems.
- The delivery approach methodology is used, involving all stakeholders in planning and ensuring follow-up on implementation.
- This approach has been successful in increasing the pass rate for students in secondary education in Tanzania.
Financing Education
- Domestic financing is emphasized as the backbone of education investment.
- Vietnam's success in outperforming the United States in PISA highlights the importance of investing in education.
Timestamps are provided for each section.
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This section discusses the challenges countries face when borrowing money for education and introduces a solution to help them escape the middle-income trap.
Borrowing Money for Education
- It is easier for countries to borrow money for infrastructure projects like bridges and roads, but not for education.
- Building a bridge can be easily visualized and showcased, whereas investing in education is a longer-term commitment.
Solution: Finance Facility for Education
- A finance facility for education has been created to help countries in the middle-income trap.
- These countries are not poor enough to receive grants or interest-free loans, but not rich enough to have attractive loan interests.
- Donor money is pooled in this facility to provide more finance for education.
- Interest payments on loans are subsidized or eliminated completely, allowing countries that commit to reforms to borrow money and improve their education systems.
Benefits of Investing in Education
- By reforming their education system, countries can benefit from a better-educated population.
- This solution was recognized at the G20 meeting in Germany, putting education on the international agenda.
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The focus shifts to the personal impact of investing in education and how it can lead to positive outcomes.
Personal Impact of Education Investment
- Investing 20% of a young country's budget in education made it possible for individuals like the speaker to go to school and achieve success.
- The decision by Tunisia's government to prioritize education led to significant achievements, including being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as the only democracy emerging from the Arab Spring.
Education as a Struggle for Rights
- Education is described as the civil rights struggle and human rights struggle of our generation.
- The fight for quality education for all is seen as a freedom fight that needs to be won.